Oestrogen changes the composition of glucose.
After 38, this is a particularly vulnerable window for women with a history of
- gestational diabetes
- history of being overweight, even just slightly or a higher BMI
- getting really sick as a child (think tonsilitis, asthma, sinus infections, on/off antibiotics, history of Epstein Barr, Glandular Fever or Ross River Fever)
- history of period problems
Why this matters: One out of every two women develop insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance often doesn’t get mentioned because there’s an invisible expectation that doctors assume that most overweight women know they have insulin resistance – because they are overweight.
You’re ranges may not PRE-DIABETIC yet, but they are rising.
You’re cholesterol may be going up, but you don’t need medication.
The doctor just says you need to lose weight, eat less and exercise more. But, this can be counter-productive, because if you don’t get the insulin down, you don’t get the benefits of eating less and exercising more.
So many women tend to feel disappointed or like they’ve let themselves down because they are overweight. She often thinks maybe she did have one too many biscuits, or, too much wine the last six months and she didn’t exercise enough – an easy fall back as to why she’s put on weight.
It’s easy to shun it off.
But, if you are over the age of 38, rising glucose is a big culprit to blame for so many “peri-menopause” or “menopause” problems bubbling under the surface. This is why we put together this research for you today!
Assuming you’ve never had any medical problems, women can see early insulin resistance during two reproductive hormone changes in the Body ReCalibration:
Phase 1: Insulin Resistance responds to the nervous system and adrenals.
This is largely due to the body’s adjustment to the steady decline of 50% of it’s calming progesterone.
Phase 4: The amount of glucose changes due to the decline in oestrogen.
(See Body Recalibration diagram to right for reference of phases)
This increased Blood Glucose is most common in women with a history of:
- Being slightly overweight
- Being overweight or obese
- History of Gestational Diabetes
- History of PCOS
- History of Insulin Resistance and/or Diabetes and/or Pre-Diabetes
- Genetic History of Diabetes
Again, these insulin responses are connected to the change of hormones.
This is important because many women complain about more BRAIN and METABOLIC issues between 50 and 67.
During this particular time, the amount of glucose increases because the insulin receptors are not working properly. The body is telling itself to produce more glucose, and not to burn ketones.
With 20% of the total glucose in the body going to the brain (now increasing), common symptoms women feel on the inside (from Insulin Resistance), but no one can see are…
- mood changes
- brain fog
- memory
- forgetfulness
- anxiety
- depression or feeling low
- sense of losing oneself
And on the outside, she can see (just due to the increased glucose in the body – with no changes in diet and exercise):
- holding more weight around the middle
- gaining five “unshiftable” kgs
- bloating
- puffiness
- holding more fluid
- suffering from hot flushes, and/or
- suffering from night sweats
I am still so fascinated by the fact that we attribute and treat hot flushes and night sweats with oestrogen, when all the evidence keeps pointing to metabolic changes, which are our temperature and energy regulators.
Up until the final menopause (the full 12months without a period), oestrogen has had an insulin-sensitising effect that your body has grown accustomed to. This is why insulin resistance can trigger as oestrogen lowers.
It may also be why doctors just assume that every women is likely to gain five kilos because of menopause.
The good news is that this doesn’t have to be you.
We have this incredible way of “Bio-Hacking” with nutrition and a Hormone Reset Program customised on your body’s blood work markers… You can watch how this Metabolic & Hormone Reset works here: https://naturalhormonebalance.co/free-training-metabolic-reset/
We have a patient that started last month. She has been going to a thyroid clinic for the last five years and hasn’t lost any weight. With slight food adjustments and less supplements, she reported a loss of 9kgs in one month with more energy and no pain. We’re so happy for her!
So, now that you know a big reason FOR the body and brain symptoms of the body recalibration,
What exactly is insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance is the condition of having chronically elevated levels of insulin, the hormone that stimulates cells to take up glucose.
It’s can also be called hyperinsulinemia, metabolic syndrome, or pre-diabetes.
Untreated insulin resistance can progress to Type 2 diabetes.
Insulin itself is an essential and beneficial hormone. Benefits include:
- turning food into energy
- promoting muscle growth
- maintaining a healthy menstrual cycle
The problem with insulin is metabolic dysfunction, specifically the reduced ability of the cells to respond to insulin. This leads to increased insulin.
Increased insulin means that your cells have a reduced ability to switch from using glucose for energy, to keytones.
This is really important – and – each body has a blueprint in their bloodwork that helps us know the protein to carbohydrate to fiber ratio your body requires to turn the insulin down and improve the cellular ability to a healthy balance of burning glucose and ketones.
NOTE: We do not recommend intermittent fasting or keto diets for our patients, especially during the Body ReCalibration.
If you are doing these diets, it’s important to learn your body’s blue print because it can actually INCREASE your INSULIN (leading weight loss resistance and inflammation) and/or DESTABILISE your NERVOUS SYSTEM (which leads to increased cortisol, causing abdominal weight gain and poor sleep).
With no prior medical history of inflammation or any real health problems, one could assume that she was losing her mind just due to the increased GLUCOSE going to the brain.
On the other side, insulin resistance is a KEY DRIVER of inflammation.
I dare you to ask five diabetic patients what their biggest aggravation is? Few will say weight gain, most will say pain and aches.
Never had a weight problem, but now you do?
On the other hand, many women that we speak to start to spark problems with weight gain and pain, largely due insulin resistance, having never had these problems before.
The most common thing we hear from these women is,
“I have never been this heavy and I know if I just lose the weight, I won’t feel so bad.”
I wanted to explain why this weight gain is (and difficultly to lose it).
Next week, I’ll break down each point below, because it’s really fascinating to see WHY insulin is the response to these issues:
The Most Common Historical Connections that lead to Insulin Resistance during your Body Re-Calibration are:
- Uterine Fibroids, Polyps, Heavy Bleeding or Hemorrhaging, &/or Cysts. *this is very fascinating because insulin proliferates a hormone that increases the growth of the tissues causing these problems*
- Endometriosis, PCOS, or Adenomyosis.
- Surgical Menopause.
- History of Epstein Barr Virus and/or Glandular Fever.
- History of Tonsil and/or Adenoid Problems.
- History of Gall Bladder problems and/or removal,
- History of Longer-Term Antibiotic usage (on/off for 6 months or more).
- AutoImmune Conditions.
- Poor Immune System.
- History of Smoking and/or Current Smoker.
- Fatty Liver. *this is really fascinating too – I can’t wait to share what we’ve discovered on this!
If left untreated, the most common thing we see is women with sustained weight loss resistance and/or high glucose levels start to suffer from inflammation, most commonly joint pain or arthritis problems.
How to test to see if your glucose may be a problem?
- Fasting Blood Glucose tests are one thing we often test for at the clinic as we can get them done cheap OR free with Medicare.
- Waist to Bust ratio (too much weight around the waist).
- Increased Cholesterol on Blood Tests.
- Fatty Liver or Elevated Liver Markers.
Because 20% of all the glucose in the body goes to the brain – it’s important to pay attention to brain and mood changes at this time.
Increased insulin resistance during this time is currently in intensive research in the connection to increased risk of Alzheimers.
Whilst insulin is one cause of weight gain, brain changes, moodiness, and inflammation changes after 38, it’s not the only marker. We always look at a good spectrum of blood work to identify what else may be going on.
Tiaan did an awesome webinar explaining how to reset your Metabolism and Hormones and what the “Bio-Hacking” process looks like to short-circuit this rising glucose. You can watch that here: https://naturalhormonebalance.co/free-training-metabolic-reset/
If you would like to be supported and start feeling like your old self again, we offer a Free Introductory Consultation. You can organise that here: https://calendly.com/nz-naturopathy/intro-consult
Looking forward to connecting again soon.
Can’t wait to share again.
Have a great day!
Warmly,
Carrie
